- Home
- Orchestras
- Alabama Youth Symphony
- Conductor's Notes - Sept. 20
Conductor's Notes - Sept. 20
- By Jennifer Holcomb
- Published 09/17/2009
- Alabama Youth Symphony
Jennifer Holcomb
Administrative Assistant
Music Opportunity Program
Conductor’s notes -
Good job today. We made some progress on all five pieces. Strings and percussion in particular were impressive. Thanks for all of your patience as we learned the concepts behind the various 7/4 measures in the Stravinsky.
Next Sunday we will have sectionals. Mr. and Mrs. Pipkin will be in charge. The groups will be divided as follows:
Strings – Rehearsal hall
Brass – Upstairs in a practice room
Flutes – Upstairs in a practice room
Oboes, Bassoons, Edward – Upstairs in a practice room
Percussion – Take the day off
Because sectionals provide a greater concentration of time for each area of the orchestra, everyone will finish by 4:30. I will have chairs set up in the rehearsal hall and in the practice rooms by the time you get there.
Please remember that, due to a concert in the Brock recital hall Sunday, you need to bring music stands.
Please work with a tuner when you practice scales and arpeggios at home. We will continue to work on listening for chords types and quality as we work on building fundamental skills.
There are times when you may have to leave early, get to rehearsal late or you may have an unavoidable conflict. Please email me as early as you know this. You should know now what school conflicts you may have. Let us know of these now, not the day before (or even worse, the week after) the conflict. It will help me to plan the rehearsal. I may even be able to plan around you. Many thanks to the Smith trio and Peter Adamo for letting us know ahead of time about special needs. Thanks to several others for reminders about music and other communications that have been helpful.
I promised you some info on Berceuse and Finale. Please read the following, mostly taken from an article written by E. Daniel Long, Director of Orchestras at Slauson Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan:
Igor Stravinsky was the son of a famous opera singer in St. Petersburg, Russia. As a child, he met most of the great Russian singers and composers of his time. After his father’s death when Igor was a young man, he was cared for by his father’s friend Rimsky-Korsakov, who taught Stravinsky how to earn a living as a composer.
Stravinsky composed The Firebird as a ballet for the famous impresario Serge Diaghilev. The first performance was June 25, 1910 at the Paris Opera. It immediately established Stravinsky on the international music scene and in an association with Diaghilev that would last until Stravinsky’s death. Stravinsky wrote a concert version of the ballet in 1911 and a suite in 1919.
The Firebird is the story of a brave young prince who, with the help of the magic Firebird, destroys an evil wizard, thereby freeing the princesses that the wizard’s magic had turned to stone. The best-known part of the suite is the “Berceuse and Finale”, when the princesses slowly come back to life. Berceuse is the French word for lullaby, which is why this part of the piece starts slowly, softly, and magically. It increases in intensity and then suddenly explodes into rays of luminous fire at the finale.
After next Sunday’s sectionals, I’ll talk with the Pipkins, then send you plans for the Sept. 27 rehearsal, a date for chair auditions, and some insight into another of our pieces for this concert. Have a great week!
Good job today. We made some progress on all five pieces. Strings and percussion in particular were impressive. Thanks for all of your patience as we learned the concepts behind the various 7/4 measures in the Stravinsky.
Next Sunday we will have sectionals. Mr. and Mrs. Pipkin will be in charge. The groups will be divided as follows:
Strings – Rehearsal hall
Brass – Upstairs in a practice room
Flutes – Upstairs in a practice room
Oboes, Bassoons, Edward – Upstairs in a practice room
Percussion – Take the day off
Because sectionals provide a greater concentration of time for each area of the orchestra, everyone will finish by 4:30. I will have chairs set up in the rehearsal hall and in the practice rooms by the time you get there.
Please remember that, due to a concert in the Brock recital hall Sunday, you need to bring music stands.
Please work with a tuner when you practice scales and arpeggios at home. We will continue to work on listening for chords types and quality as we work on building fundamental skills.
There are times when you may have to leave early, get to rehearsal late or you may have an unavoidable conflict. Please email me as early as you know this. You should know now what school conflicts you may have. Let us know of these now, not the day before (or even worse, the week after) the conflict. It will help me to plan the rehearsal. I may even be able to plan around you. Many thanks to the Smith trio and Peter Adamo for letting us know ahead of time about special needs. Thanks to several others for reminders about music and other communications that have been helpful.
I promised you some info on Berceuse and Finale. Please read the following, mostly taken from an article written by E. Daniel Long, Director of Orchestras at Slauson Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan:
Igor Stravinsky was the son of a famous opera singer in St. Petersburg, Russia. As a child, he met most of the great Russian singers and composers of his time. After his father’s death when Igor was a young man, he was cared for by his father’s friend Rimsky-Korsakov, who taught Stravinsky how to earn a living as a composer.
Stravinsky composed The Firebird as a ballet for the famous impresario Serge Diaghilev. The first performance was June 25, 1910 at the Paris Opera. It immediately established Stravinsky on the international music scene and in an association with Diaghilev that would last until Stravinsky’s death. Stravinsky wrote a concert version of the ballet in 1911 and a suite in 1919.
The Firebird is the story of a brave young prince who, with the help of the magic Firebird, destroys an evil wizard, thereby freeing the princesses that the wizard’s magic had turned to stone. The best-known part of the suite is the “Berceuse and Finale”, when the princesses slowly come back to life. Berceuse is the French word for lullaby, which is why this part of the piece starts slowly, softly, and magically. It increases in intensity and then suddenly explodes into rays of luminous fire at the finale.
After next Sunday’s sectionals, I’ll talk with the Pipkins, then send you plans for the Sept. 27 rehearsal, a date for chair auditions, and some insight into another of our pieces for this concert. Have a great week!